Harvest Christian sweeps Westminster

Harvest Christian just had too many weapons for Westminster Christian.

The Lions came at the Warriors from all angles on the way to a 25-14, 25-18 Northeastern Athletic Conference girls volleyball victory in Elgin Thursday night.

Four players recorded 4 or more kills for Harvest, led by Sydney Doby with 11 and Ellie Burzlaff with 8.

Savannah Dutcher was Westminster‘s primary force, with 10 kills from the middle.

But Harvest had more balance, with big hits coming from both sides, the middle, and even the back row.

Despite graduation losses from last year’s second straight Class 1A Elite Eight qualifier, the Lions have come back stronger in some ways because of the greater depth.

“A lot of girls were worried coming in because we lost so many girls,” said Doby. “But the way I look at it, we’re a much better team this year. We have a lot stronger team.”

Showing that balance, Mikayla Robinson added 5 kills and Chloe Corbett had 4 for the Lions (6-6, 2-1). Doby and Shayna Manusos had 4 digs apiece while setter Jade Martinez had 24 assists.

The Lions started strong and finished strong in Game 1. They raced out to a 5-0 lead and, after trading points with Westminster for most of the game, closed on a 6-0 run.

Robinson was at the service line for the final 5 points. All 6 points came on kills, 3 by Doby and 1 by Corbett. Even Martinez got into the act with a kill.

“We really couldn’t adjust to their hitters,” said Westminster coach Kathy Ramos.

Game 2 was back-and-forth early. The Warriors took their biggest lead at 7-5 following back-to-back aces by Claire Speweik. But Harvest rallied for 3 straight points and never trailed again. The Lions closed the game on a 7-3 run.

The Lions have made it a priority to spread the wealth.

“Having more of a team is a key concept this year,” said Harvest coach Kim Floyd. “You’re only as good as your weakest player.”

Speweik added 3 kills for Westminster (7-1-3, 2-1), while Emma Kovachevich had 8 assists.